Stove-top.



F. W. ROGERS;

STOVE TOP.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 13, 1907. 965,334, Patented July 26, 1910.

f r. 5 Z I @942 F A T TOR/V5 KS.

UNITED STATES- PATENT UFFICE.

FREDERICK w. RoeERs, oEEEAvER DAM, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR T MALLEABLE IRON RANGE COMPANY, or BEAVER DAM, WISCONSIN, A coRroRArIoN'or WIS- CONSIN.

STOVE-TOP.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented July 26, 1910.

Application filed June 13, 1907. SeriaI No. 378,719.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK W. ROG- ERS, residing in Beaver Dam, in the county of Dodge and State of-Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in amount of labor.

A further object is to provide a construction 111 which iI'llQ'JOllliTS are all uniform and balanced, and the completed top presents a neat finished appearance and is strongand durable and parts areinterchailgeable with I cm'responding like parts.

With the-above, and other incidental ob jects in view, the invention consists of the devices and parts, or their equivalents, as hereinafter set forth. 4 4

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a range top, with the covers removed; Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2---2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 1s a section on the 'line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is 'a frag mentary sectional view of two members of the top, illustrating the connecting means; and Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of a modi-' fied form.

In-the better ades of ranges or stoves, the tops thereof are ordinarlly made of malleable iron, and are usually formed by connecting a number of pieces together by means of bolts or rivets. In annealing the castings to make them malleable, they have a tendency to shrink and vary in length due to the heating, and in assembling the parts together considerable difliculty is expericonnect the front strip and the rear member together forming the rectangular top.

The side strips 8 are provided with lugs 9, 9 integral therewith and extending inwardly from the inner edges and of the thickness ofthe metal of the strips, below the top surface of the range top, so that when the front strip and the rear member are disposed on said lugs, the upper surfaces of all of the parts will be flush with each other. I preferably provide one of these lugs for each end of the front strip, and two lugs for each end of the rear member, although any number desired may be used. These lugs are provided with transverse slotted apertures 10, 10, and the front strip and the rear member are provided with apertures 11, 11 coincident with the slotted aper tures 10, 10of the lugs 9, 9. The apertures 11, 11 are countersunk so that the heads of rivets 12,12 will lie flush with the top sur face of the strips; The rivets 12, 12 are inserted, through the countersunk apertures and the slotted apertures in the lugs, and when the parts are. properly positioned the rivets. are set, and in setting the metal of the rivets will spread and fill the slotted apertures sufiiciently to preventany movement of the rivets therein.

Before riveting the parts together, the front strip and the rear member are sawed or milled to a given length, usually by cutting off both ends as at 13, 13, so as to form square corners, and this cutting determines the length of the stove top and also the length of the cover opening. The two sides are cast slightly longer than the width of the top so that in any position of adjustment the side members will be flush with, or extend a slight distance rearwardly beyond the rear member. This slight rear extension is. hardly noticeable from the front or sides, but if desired may be out or ground off after the parts have beenassembled and riveted.

, Flanged shoulders 14', 14 integralwith and extending from the inner edges of the strips and the member serve as supports for the covers to be placed thereon when the range top is inouse. The flanged shoulders extend inwardly below the plane of the top surface of the top sothat the covers place thereon-will'lie flush with the range top.

The flanges 14: of the side strips 8 extend beneath the front and rear members 6 and 7 and the upper surfaces of the flanges are substantially flush with the upper surfaces of the lugs 9.

The rear member is provided with a flanged flue opening 15 adapted to have connected thereto a stove pipe. The front ends of the side strips are provided with downwardly turned flanges 16, 16 rounded at their junction with the top surface of the strips and similar to theouter downwardly turned flanges 17, 17 of the front and side strips thereby providing a rounded flanged edge-to the range top upon its front and both sides, and giving a finished appearance to the top, with only two joints visible from a. front view and not any from the sides.

In assembling the parts after the front strip and the rear member have had their ends cut off, the two side strips are spaced apart by placing the front strip on the lugs near the forward ends of the side strips and the sawed ends of the front strip and the rear member are placed against the m-.

ner edges of the side strips, and the front edge of the front strip is then alined with the front ends of the side strips, the slotted apertures allowing the necessary adjustment, and when in alinement' the partsare then riveted together. The rear member is then placed on the lugs of the side strips andwhen properly positioned and spaced is then riveted to the side strips. The top is now complete unless it is desired to grind or saw off .the rear ends of the side strips which extend beyond the rear member.

F ron'i the foregoing description it will be seen that in manufacturing range tops according to my improved construction itis only necessary to saw or mill off the ends of the front strip and the rear member and the castings may then be assembled without further machine work, and the finished top and the cover openings will be square and true to a predetermined size, and the coverswill fit accurately.

In the modified form shown in Fig. 5 the slots in the lugs 9, 9, near the front end of the side strips are omitted and round holes 18 substituted therefor, and with this change all of the adjusting may be done with the rear member in connection with the side strips.

What I claim as my invention is:

A range orstove top, comprising side members provided with slotted lugs and witlrshoulders extending a portion of their lengths, a front member cut to a predetermined length and having a shoulder extending a portion of its length positioned between the front portions of the side members and provided with openings registen ing with some of the slots of the slotted lugs, the ends of the shouldered portion of the front member positioned between the shouldered portions .of the side members, bolts connecting the front member to some of the lugs and in connection with the slots permitting the alinement of the front edge of the front member with the front ends of the side members, a rear member cut to a predetermined length and having a shoulder extending a portion of its length positioned between the rear portions of the side members and provided with openings registering with the slots of some of the slotted lugs, the ends of the shouldered portion of the rear member positioned between the shouldered portions of the side members, and bolts connecting the rear member to some of the lugs of the side members and permitting the rear member to be adjusted toward or away from the front member.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK W. ROGERS. Witnesses C. WV. STEWART, J WV. BAKER. 

